Trash collection reduced in Puerto Rico city amid crisis

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Garbage could soon pile up in one of Puerto Rico’s largest cities because it has not paid a trash collecting bill amid a deep economic crisis.

Waste management company EC Waste said Tuesday that it was reducing its services in the west coastal city of Mayaguez because of a multimillion-dollar debt. The company said it hasn’t been paid since October 2016 and that it has temporarily laid off 27 employees.

EC Waste said the routes that it services in Mayaguez will be “dramatically reduced” as a temporary measure until the municipality creates a plan to address the debt.

Puerto Rico is mired in a decade-long recession and seeking to restructure some $70 billion in public debt. The government has failed to pay numerous vendors and contractors amid the crisis.